Vogelbusch to provide Ineos distillation, dehydration equipment

Longtime corn-ethanol process technology provider Vogelbusch USA Inc. has been awarded a contract to supply ethanol distillation and dehydration equipment for Ineos New Planet BioEnergy’s future demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol and renewable power biorefinery, dubbed the Indian River BioEnergy Center, currently under construction in Vero Beach, Fla.

The foundations are set with vertical equipment expected to take up the remainder of the fall and winter, said Dan Cummings, vice president of Ineos BioEnergy, who added that about 250 construction workers are busy on site to meet the project’s anticipated start-up in the second quarter 2012.

“[The project] is progressing nicely and is on schedule,” Cummings told Biorefining Magazine. “It’s in full construction mode now so we expect we we’ll have another announcement here in the next month or two as more equipment comes on site; much of which are used in the rest of the refining and biofuels industries. We’re very excited.”

The facility broke ground in February and, when operational, will use Ineos Bio’s patented anaerobic fermentation step, which involves a unique combination of gasification and fermentation technologies capable of converting a range of waste biomass feedstocks, including municipal solid waste, into 8 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol and 6 megawatts of renewable power annually.

“By integrating proven, existing technology, like Vogelbusch’s state-of-the-art distillation and dehydration, with new biomass conversion processes, project risks can be minimized, which should lead to quick scale-ups of promising next-generation bioenergy technology,” said Dan Mahon, vice president of sales and marketing for Vogelbusch USA. “We are thrilled to be part of one of the most innovative, cutting-edge ideas for producing biofuels from wastes and crop residues.”

In September, Air Products and Chemicals Inc. provided the plant with onsite gaseous oxygen via a proprietary gas generation system and supplied bulk liquid oxygen and nitrogen by truck for the plant’s production process.

In January, the project received a $75 million USDA loan guarantee as part of the USDA’s 9003 Biorefinery Assistance Program to help cover the cost of building the plant, in addition to support from the state of Florida in the form of a $2.5 million grant. In late 2009, the project received a $50 million U.S. DOE grant as part of its Section 932 Integrated Biorefinery program.

0 Responses

Leave a Reply

Biomass Magazine encourages encourages civil conversation and debate. However, we reserve the right to delete comments for reasons including but not limited to: any type of attack, injurious statements, profanity, business solicitations or other advertising.